There are obviously ways around this (ie, real time recording of the cd as opposed to ripping tracks) but if it minimises the profit loss of artists I think it is a good thing. If there was no money in recording then we all wouldn't have fantastic midi files to sequence!

Who knows how long CD's will be around for anyway? Soon enough, I think that all music will be able to be purchased and downloaded straight from the record companies.......(still quite a few years from that really but what the hey!)

i wouldn't want to pay for downloadable cds because they will have encryption on them and I can't make my own mixes with them. The joys of owning a cd is that you can mulnipulate the songs and the cd anyway you want. Think of the VCR and now digital recording of TV broadcasts. Music isn't anything, anyone can play someone's music. I understand how the music industry is losing money due to file trading but this is out rageous, just shut down the p2p networks, well that might not be the best idea because there will always be p2p networks even if they are very small.

I disagree with putting more restrictions like this on CDs. They cost enough as it is, and putting programs to stop you copying them doesn't make them more attractive to buy or cheaper. I myself don't copy them anyway, but I can understand why people do, what with them being so expensive. People will always find a way round things like this, so it's really only a stop gap anyway. What really gets me is the amount of money you have to pay if you want to learn music. Fair enough, charge people who want to listen to it, but if you want to learn music, I think you should be able to buy CDs/tab books cheaper. Otherwise, the record companies are shutting of whole new generations of future musicians who may want to sign with them.

The record industry kinda screwed up when they first made CD's. There error is on the price that they were set at. Most CD's cost about 15-20 bucks. That is inceredibly more than cost, anyone who has boughten CD-R's should know this. The higher price of CD's begged for the "evil" p2p programs to reaise their heads. Also CD burners became a popular way of getting the CD for little cost. The record execs are trying to take down the p2p programs. That will never happen. There are too many. They also want to make CD's that can't have songs ripped from them. There will always be a way to get around that. Look at PS2 games. They use CD's but the CD's have a mod chip in them. I know dozens of places where I can buy mod-chip enhanced CD's but they run it the price range of upwards of 30 bucks. A blank CD can cost about half a cent. There is not the big gap with PS2 games. The same theory can apply for DVD's. I'm sure that the record company will go through with their threat, and technology will find a way around it. They should just lower prices, then the demand for copying CD's will decline.

Good views here guys -
There never has been any doubt as to the recording labels' greed.
If they would package a good product at a reasonable cost, people wouldn't feel the need to find 'em elsewhere.

There always will alternate methods of ripping tracks and obtaining music... From realtime recording to software/hardware workarounds... That doesn't really concern me.
What does concern me is the labels mentality that they can sell CDs that will not work in PCs or even newer DVD players (etc)
The thought that they can conduct business that way without any regard to pissing off their paying customers is rather alarming.

Another one is MediaCloQ copy protection which uses a malformed TOC on the CD.
Most CDroms won't read them at all - some new CD playes and DVD's won't read them either - but you can return them without much problem if they don't work in your gear.